British Gurkha Recruitment and Higher Education of Gurung Young Men

Abstract

The Gurungs have historical attachment with British Gurkha recruitment and some special social values about it have been developed. So, lahure practice has been developed as a culture among them. This research has tried to analyze the impact of British Gurkha recruitment on the higher education of Gurung young men. The social value of being a lahure and an educated professional in the Gurung community is a major discourse of the study. The study is based on the field work carried out in Pokhara Sub-metropolis. It is basically qualitative in nature and interview was adopted as the main tool to collect the necessary information. Being a lahure is a matter of great craze among the Gurung youths. The socio-cultural circumstances also encourage them to try for recruitment. There is high social value of being a lahure in the Gurung community in contrast with getting higher education. The educational attainment of the Gurung youths is inter-related with these social values. It has an adverse effect on the educational status of the Gurung youths. The educational achievement of the Gurung community would have been far better if the community was not dominated by the pro-lahure culture.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v5i0.6361

Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 5, 2011: 143-70